Donovan Carter
  • Class of 2018
  • Randallstown, MD

Senior Exhibition Set for Frostburg State University Art Students

2018 Apr 24

The Senior Exhibition for six Frostburg State University students, Matinicus Creek, Donovan Carter, Shelby Brothers, DeVonte Jackson, Alec Edwards and Madison McKenzie, will open Saturday, April 28, at 2 p.m. the Stephanie Ann Roper Gallery in FSU's Fine Arts Building. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Creek is an artist who values studying fundamentals and breaking them immediately afterwards. After choosing to pursue art seriously, several doors opened that allowed him to learn to paint, draw, sculpt, create color schemes and more, but he continues to work to improve. He wants to teach these skills to up-and-coming young artists to help them understand that becoming skilled in art is no easy task, not even for the professionals who are still working to get better.

Carter's artwork takes the exaggerated geometric forms and eccentric nature of classic art deco posters and blends them with sci-fi elements to create a futuristic appearance with an overall classic old-timey feel. He produces this effect by layering a variety of gradient-filled shapes, lines, textures and layer effects, using Adobe Illustrator. Often his work is filled with pixels, squares, rectangles, film grain and stacks of lines, all overlaid, to create the illusion that the viewer is looking through a television screen or security camera, adding to the overall virtual aesthetic.

Brothers has always been interested in art and computers and combines the two to create her work. She is most interested in package and logo design and hopes to use her design skills to do so in the future. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in graphic design. Brothers is a graduate of Frankfort High School in Ridgeley, W.Va., and Potomac State College.

Growing up in a military family, Jackson developed an artistic style based on the places he has lived and the cultures that surrounded him, including Portugal, Japan and the U.S. He works in the traditional medium of ink and has matured his style to turning his ink pieces into digital pieces full of color. He has expanded his knowledge of media to spray painting as well. Jackson hopes to continue to grow as an illustrator and eventually publish his own graphic novel. He graduated from Meade Senior High School in Fort Meade, Md.

Edwards describes herself as a daydreamer, saying her work is a reflection of reality in a playful dream-like state. Many of her pieces are based on her experiences with a twist of surrealism. She would like to use her printmaking and graphic design skills to sell and/or create designs for others. Edwards will enter the FSU MBA program this summer. She is a graduate of Allegany College of Maryland.

McKenzie aims to have her designs reflect who she is as an artist in relation to what makes each piece unique. She finds printmaking to be the most successful way to express her ideas. She is inspired by the unpredictable process of what the final piece will look like after it is inked and placed on paper. She is a graduate of Allegany High School and Allegany College of Maryland. After graduation, McKenzie intends to continue with art and design work as she works toward getting a master's degree in school counseling.

This exhibit is a unique opportunity to see firsthand the work of six young artists as they start their journey toward a career in the visual arts. For more information, contact the Department of Visual Arts at 301-687-4797.